Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs

by sithlorde1988

The sequel to Persona 5-The Phantom Files. A few years after Ren returns home, the Phantom Thieves find themselves drawn back into the Metaverse once again out of nowhere after a mysterious app surfaces with the powers to access the Metaverse. Can the Phantom Thieves stop a mysterious new group of individuals called Monarchs? Better summary in chapter 1! BOTH STORY AND EDITS DONE!

8. Hitting the Road! Phony Overlord part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! Hopefully the interlude I did last chapter is well-received, since as of the point of typing out this start-of-chapter A/N, I haven't seen any reader feedback for that chapter (given that I'm working on building up a sizable backlog of chapters for this while working on finishing edits for Phantom Files. Note that Phantom Files, as of the point of typing this start-of-chapter A/N, is edited all the way up to chapter 67. As a result, it's a bit over 2/3rds of the way through being being edited for content), so while I'm likely working on an 'every 4 days' uploading schedule, for timelining purposes?

It's presently 2:08 PM on Sunday, November 5th, 2023 as I type this A/N. Just putting that out there for reference, since I have no clue exactly when this chapter will actually go up on the site (much less when people will be reading this A/N), so consider that your bit of insight into the process of making this story for this chapter. That said, let's hit up the disclaimer and get it out of the way, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OC Kusa/Draconis, and any other OCs that might spring up the story, all of which are made and therefore owned by me unless otherwise noted), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus, and to a point Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Q' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Arena' games are all concerned), so all credit to them!

And with that disclaimer sorted, I think we're good to get on to the chapter! I'll probably have another decent-length A/N after the chapter, so keep an eye peeled for that. Now, on with chapter 8, and with it, the start of Arc 2!

Chapter 8: Gettin' the show on the road! Enter the Phantomobile! Phony Overlord part 1

(In the lower level of Leblanc, with Ren and Sumire)

"Well, should we go and see what Ryuji wants us to see?" Ren asked Sumire, who smiled at Ren before speaking up.

"I think, in this case? You should go. I'll go and look around the area a bit, maybe catch up with the rest of the group. After all, we don't have to be glued to each other's side all the time. I enjoy it and all, but you deserve to have a bit of time with the others without me stuck to your side." Sumire said understandingly as Ren nodded, ignoring the quietly-sniggering cat in his bag as he spoke up.

"Thank you. I appreciate your understanding, Sumi. Here's an idea. Why don't I leave my phone with you and take your phone, so that way Sophia can also get to see whatever it is Ryuji wants me to see, plus it lets you have a bit of time for yourself." Ren offered as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"If you want to do that, I don't mind, Ren. Luckily, Sophia's currently in idle mode so as long as we don't wake her, she shouldn't notice a thing until you're over with the others. And if she does, I trust Morgana to keep her calm through it. And you'll do that for me, won't you Morgana?" Sumire said, turning to give the cat currently peeking his head out of Ren's bag a pointed look, making Morgana just nod sheepishly before speaking up.

"Of course. I would be honored to watch after Sophia in your absence as needed, Sumire." Morgana said agreeably as Sumire nodded before she and Ren walked out of Leblanc to go about their respective activities. After going outside, Ren found Haru and Makoto standing together outside of the theater across the way from Takemi's clinic. After getting over his surprise, Ren spoke up.

"Excited about this trip, Makoto? Also, apologies in advance for asking so much of you in regard to the driving of the RV, big sis." Ren said kindly to Makoto, who spoke up.

"It's fine, little bro. I don't mind doing most of the driving for us, since it's likely better than the alternative." Makoto said, with an almost-imperceptible shudder, making Ren frown at this, wondering what Makoto meant. However, he chose not to comment on it as he spoke up.

"That's the spirit. And for what it's worth? Once he catches back up to us and we have him in the fold again, I believe Futaba said before that Kusa has his license, so he can switch off with you as needed when it comes to driving. Granted, I heard that he's also driving Boss' old car now, so he might be following us in that? I dunno." Ren said warily as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Somehow, I can see Kusa having his license. It sounds like the sort of thing he'd do. As for the others not having it, I suppose they figured they didn't need to drive anywhere for the most part? But I predict a lot of them will be motivated to get their licenses by the end of this road trip. That said, driving something as big as an RV is a first for me, and so I must admit I'm at least a bit nervous, but I know I've got to grit it and bear, since I'm the only licensed driver in the group for now, other than Haru. But, I'd rather not make her take the wheel if I can help it.

That being said, even so I'm looking forward to it. I've wanted to go on a long road trip for some time now. Oh, and don't worry. I won't gun it like with Johanna." Makoto said with a closed-eye smile, making Ren wince at the reference to her tendency to go 'pedal to the medal' with her driving of Johanna, the original form of her 'Anat' Persona that had literally been a motorcycle with a face. Ren then nodded as he turned to Haru and spoke up.

"So, how are you feeling about this trip, Haru? I get the sense from your facial expression that you're excited for it." Ren said kindly to Haru, who smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, yes, very much so. We may have to focus our efforts on the case, but even so? I'm still very excited for our trip. In fact, I'm now extra glad that I asked for some time off at the company now that all of this has come together. Who knew that would end up coming in so handy? Hee hee, I hope we all have a great time!" Haru said with a giggle. After Ren nodded, he looked around for the others, finding Yusuke and Futaba together at the nearby supermarket. After walking over to Yusuke, Ren spoke up.

"Gettin' ready for the long trip, Yusuke? I can't imagine how you'll manage on your paltry budget, to be honest." Ren said as Yusuke smirked and spoke up.

"That is a fair point, Ren. However, isn't this supposed to be a long excursion, though? I'd better stock up as bet I can while I have the chance." Yusuke said as Ren nodded before turning to Futaba and speaking up.

"I see you got paired off with Yusuke for now, little sis. Try not to be too impatient with him, yeah? He is still our resident art expert." Ren said kindly to Futaba, who smiled and spoke up.

"It's fine, big bro. I can handle Inari." Futaba said with a confident smile as she turned to Yusuke and kept speaking.

"Listen, Inari! I know you're keen to stock up, but you only get 500 yen for snacks for now, okay?" Futaba said as a wide-eyed Yusuke spoke up.

"Wha-!? Impossible! B-But rock salt's not a snack, yes!?" Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"Rock salt isn't technically a food item in and of itself, so much as it's a condiment. So no, you're right that it's not a snack. However, you should be buying more substantial things than rock salt, Yusuke." Ren gently but firmly rebuked Yusuke, who nodded as Ren kept moving. After looking around, Ren eventually found Sumire by herself at the laundromat, with a couple of big bags sitting on the ground next to her. Ren smirked as he walked over to Sumire and spoke up.

"Doin' some last-minute laundry before the trip, eh beautiful?" Ren said as Sumire blinked and spoke up as she spotted Ren, turning around to look into her boyfriend's eyes as she spoke.

"That's right. Have you not spoken to Ryuji yet?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up with a grin.

"Not yet. I'm savin' that for last. Figured I'd chat with everyone else first because I can. I didn't think you'd stacked up that much laundry, but what do I know? I've been gone for a while before now." Ren said slyly as Sumire blushed and spoke up.

"Y-Yes, well, I've had some of this stack up even before you came back to town. After all, when you're me, and you do a lot of gymnastics, you tend to neglect some things. As a result, some of your other routine activities, like laundry, tend to somewhat fall to the wayside, so to speak. So this is a lot of back laundry being done right now. And some of it may or may not be because of what we did recently." Sumire said, revealing she'd changed her outfit from the one she'd had on when Ren returned to town to a more familiar looking outfit.

Said familiar looking outfit ended up comprising of a baby blue sleeveless shirt with black mini-dots, a white knee-length flaring skirt, and white heel shoes. Ren also noticed with a smile that Sumire had chosen to wear her hair down for this occasion, rather than in the ponytail she so often had it in. Ren then smiled at Sumire and spoke up.

"Ah, that outfit brings back memories. As I recall, wasn't that the outfit you had on that summer that we shared our first significant kiss?" Ren said with a wistful smile as Sumire giggled and nodded while speaking up.

"Yep. I wore this outfit to the batting cages the day you gave me that rather, err, enthusiastic? Yeah, let's go with that! You gave me a rather enthusiastic reward for hitting that home run. I think that was the day it started to really hit home, so to speak, for me that you actually had legitimate feelings for me. And truth be told? I think that was when I first seriously started falling in love with you. I'll admit that I was nursing something of a small schoolgirl's crush on you prior to that, but once you kissed me? I was head over heels for you from that point on, I think. Heh, good times, right?" Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Granted, those times got even better once you started embracing your true self instead of that screwed-up reality you were stuck in thanks to Maruki. I am grateful to him for trying to help you cope with your loss. However, even after having said that, I also believe we can both agree that while his intentions were no doubt pure and noble when he did what he did, he chose the entirely worst way possible to go about trying to help you.

But that's in the past now. Now we're happy and content together. And I look forward to having lots more time to make amazing memories with you on this trip hopefully. If some of those memories end up having Sophia along for the ride, well then so be it." Ren said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"True. But you better get going, Ren. You still have to talk to Ryuji, right?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up.

"Yep. Him and Ann, both. But I have a feeling a certain someone's more excited to see one of those two than the other, right Morgana?" Ren said as Morgana's head popped out of the bag on hearing his name to speak up.

"Hm? Did I hear my name? And Lady Ann's?" Morgana asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. We're getting ready to go talk to her and Ryuji now, since they're the last two left to speak with, other than Boss. But I'm saving him for absolute last for reasons." Ren said wisely as Morgana nodded and went back in the bag as Ren and Sumire exchanged a lingering kiss before Ren kept moving. After getting out to the main road once more, Ren found Ann and Ryuji standing together near the entrance to the batting cages. After thinking it over briefly, Ren approached Ann and spoke up.

"What's up, sis? You have a surprisingly bothered look on your face for someone who's about to be going on an epic road trip with the rest of the group." Ren said as Ann spoke up.

"Oh, hi bro. Sorry, I've just been doing a lot of thinking, that's all. And to be honest? I have a feeling life is going to get a lot rougher for Alice, in a bunch of ways, many of which she likely cannot have seen coming. But at the same time, I know there are people out there who have looked up to her, well before she started all this and lost her way. Those people are gonna be so pumped when she makes her comeback! That's why I hope she doesn't just give up on her dreams." Ann said as Ren spoke up with an understanding nod.

"Ignoring the fact that you're more than likely one of those people, I have to say, it sounds like it's gotta be pretty tough to be Alice right now. But if she has you and even Sumire in her corner, I'm sure she'll pull through it just fine." Ren said kindly. Ann gave Ren a closed-eye smile at his reassurance before she spoke up.

"Mmhm, but I have to have some faith that she can do it! Oh, umm, sorry! I didn't mean to get all sappy right before we leave and everything. Truth be told, I'm really pumped to get this trip with everyone, or at least with everyone who's here right now. I get a feeling Kusa will re-join us sooner rather than later, but for now, we're likely gonna have to proceed without him. That said, we'd better make the most out of it, right? In that case, ta-daaaah! I brought a whole bunch of games, so let's play some when we all have the time for it!" Ann said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"That's an option, but odds are we'd have to wait until we're not driving around to do that, otherwise Makoto won't get to partake in the games, given she'll be doing probably the majority of the driving for now." Ren said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"Ohh, good point. But even then, I think we'll be stopped off often enough that we can still fit in at least some games. So in that spirit, what should we play to kick things off? The game of Strife, perhaps? Maybe a round or two of JUNO, possibly? Ohh! Ooh, what about Jonga? While we're moving!?" Ann said as Ren winced and spoke up. *1*

"While we're moving!? You do realize that something like that is very unlikely to end well for anyone involved, right?" Ren asked warily as Morgana chose then to pop out and speak up.

"Mwehehe, of course she does! I'm sure Lady Ann has taken such things as safety concerns into account in her planning." Morgana said as Ren shrugged before Ann spoke up.

"Ignoring his usual brand of mindless simping, Morgana has a point. If we did Jonga while moving, it'd be in a contained area so that the pieces don't go flying everywhere." Ann said as Ren nodded by way of response before turning to Ryuji and speaking up as Morgana ducked back into Ren's bag.

"Sorry to keep you waitin', bro. I was talkin' to everyone else I could first. Wanted to save the best bro for last, after all. So what's bonkin'?" Ren said to Ryuji who gave Ren a deadpan look as he spoke up.

"Yo! There you are, RenRen! Hey, man! Been waitin' for ya. Up to grab some ramen right now? It'll be at you-know-where. Let's celebrate for gettin' the band back together, for the most part, and settin' off on this big trip!" Ryuji said as Ren thought about it before nodding to himself as he spoke up.

"You know what? Sure, why not? Let's go and get some ramen together, Ryuji." Ren said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Heh, we did it! What are we waitin' for, then!?" Ryuji asked as Ann's eyes widened in surprise before she spoke up.

"Wait, what? You're gonna go right now!? I think you're a little obsessed, Ryuji." Ann said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"And? That a problem? Hey, if you're not doin' anything, you should come with." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"That's up to her if she wants to tag along, Ryuji. But she's welcome if she wants to come. If nothing else, it'd probably make the fact I technically have both Sophia and Morgana tagging along in my bag a bit less awkward for us." Ren said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Of course those two are stowing away in there. But, wait? I thought only Sumire had Sophia on her phone?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up.

"She does, but she's letting me use her phone for this so that Sophia could tag along and get to see some new things. The fact that Morgana just so happened to also end up stowing away in my bag as well is a total coincidence." Ren said with a grin as Ann spoke up.

"Fair. But still, hmm, what to do? I dunno if I want all the calories that come from a bowl of ramen in my diet right now or not. Eh, but why not? Well, I guess I'll come along, since Ren is here." Ann said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"All riiight, the Shujin trio is off!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded and followed Ryuji and Ann to the ramen place...

(A short time later, in the Ogikubo ramen shop, with Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Morgana, and Sophia)

"Mmm! DAMN, this shit's the bomb! Now this is what I'm talkin' about, dude! No ramen, no life!" Ryuji said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Right? Man, this brings me back. I know it's only been a bit over three and a half years since I was last here, but it feels like it's been a lot longer than that to me, somehow." Ren said sagely. Ryuji laughed and spoke up while clapping Ren on the shoulder with his free hand.

"Truth, RenRen! Remind me again, you haven't eaten this for what, close to four years now? Must be a happy reunion." Ryuji said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. But for real, you really love ramen that much?" Ann asked as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Of course. Not only is ramen delicious, but this is one of the first dishes Kusa and I shared with Ryuji over here when we first met him. Heh, now that's a throwback. Sure, Ryuji was still rather socially awkward back then, but I'd like to think he's come a long way in the around four years now that Kusa and I have known him. Props on that, Ryuji. You've really matured a lot in that time." Ren said as Ryuji grinned and fist-bumped Ren while speaking up.

"Truth, RenRen! You know how it is, man!" Ryuji said as Ann giggled and spoke up.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me that you two would bond over ramen, of all things. Still, I can't lie. I can see why you'd bond over it. Because, well, it is good, though!" Ann said honestly as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Right? I could eat this forever." Ryuji said as Heh, man, eating this reminds me of the original Phantom Thieves, back when it was just us three and Kusa." Ryuji said as Morgana frowned and spoke up from inside of Ren's bag.

"Hey! You mean 'us five'. I was there too, you know." Morgana said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up while patting Morgana gently on the head.

"Yeah, yeah. I remember you were there, too. I also remember that you ate too much and ended up feelin' like crap." Ryuji said as Morgana hissed at Ryuji and spoke up.

"WHAT!? You weren't any better, Ryuji! As I recall, only Lady Ann and Kusa didn't make themselves sick from over-eating that day." Morgana said sagely. Ryuji and Ren frowned at this and spoke up.

"Shuddup!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up while leaning down to give Morgana a disapproving look.

"And be quiet. I'm not sure we're supposed to bring cats in here. I only brought you along so that Sophia wouldn't be alone while accompanying us." Ren said so only Morgana could hear. As if summoned by hearing her name, a 'BIP' from Ren's borrowed phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Did I hear my name? Hey. Ooh, is this a ramen shop? I've looked these up online. Supposedly, the food they make here is said to be quite delectable and tasty." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Ohh, is this your first time in one of these shops, Sophia?" Ryuji asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely. Hey, show me the ramen." Sophia said as Ren and Ryuji exchanged a shrug before Ren turned Sumire's phone so that Sophia could see the ramen, making her aquamarine, almost baby-blue, eyes widen in a mixture of awe and surprise as she spoke up.

"Whoa! Ohh, so this is what ramen is." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Looks good, right? Too bad you can't try it. They got extra large ones too. You won't believe how much stuff they put in." Ryuji said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, really? Ooh, I want to see." Sophia said as Ryuji's eyes widened slightly before he spoke up.

"Oh! Huh?" Ryuji said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"I want to see some extra large ramen." Sophia said as Ann gave Ryuji a smug smirk and spoke up.

"You heard the lady. Show her, Ryuji." Ann said as Ryuji shook his head frantically, his eyes going wide as he spoke up.

"For real!? No way! I just had a bowl!" Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with a smirk.

"Ah, so that's your story? I seem to recall that you just said that you could, and I quote, 'eat it forever'. If that's true, then prove it. Do it for Sophia!" Ann said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Hrgh, I did say that, didn't I? Shit, way to put me on the spot, Ann. Ugh! Fine, challenge accepted! But I'm takin' you guys with me! Hey boss, we'll take three extra large bowls over here!" Ryuji said, ignoring the twin set of widened eyes from Ren and Ann next to him, and the quiet sniggers of Morgana from inside Ren's bag as he got the chef's attention. Ann blinked at this and spoke up.

"Wha-? Seriously!?" Ann said as the chef crossed his arms in intrigue and watched as he placed three towering bowls of ramen down in front of Ren, Ann, and Ryuji, who all worked together to devour the bowls. Afterwards, Ann groaned and spoke up.

"Oh, no. I can't eat another bite. No more, please." Ann said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Urp, crap, I think I'm over capacity. Gonna puke." Ryuji said as Ren groaned and spoke up.

"Shit, I forgot how filling these can be. I think my stomach's gonna burst if I eat anymore." Ren said as Morgana sighed and spoke up from Ren's bag.

"Good grief, what a bunch of show-offs. So, are you guys done with your shenanigans?" Morgana asked as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Pretty much." Ren said before turning to his phone and looking at Sophia as he spoke up.

"You see that, Sophia? All three of us downed an extra large ramen bowl each, just for you. I hope you enjoyed the show." Ren said. Sophia smiled and nodded happily as she spoke up, not seeing the widening of Ren and Ann's eyes, along with Morgana's in Ren's bag, at what she said next.

"I did indeed. It was quite the spectacle. Thank you, Pa-err, I mean Ren. Thank you, Ren. I learned a lot from that." Sophia said as Ryuji spoke up weakly, ignoring Sophia's near-slip of the tongue to focus on something else.

"Oh, yeah? That's nice. It's good to hear you at least enjoyed the show. Makes what we just did almost worthwhile, other than the constant color commentary from the furry jerk who is currently hiding in RenRen's bag." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up.

"Shut it, Ryuji. At least I didn't overeat this time." Morgana said as Sophia looked down at Morgana as Ren aimed his phone towards the spot Morgana was curled up in and spoke up.

"Umm, but didn't you not get to eat at all, Morgana? So of course you couldn't over-eat." Sophia said in confusion as Morgana spoke up.

"That's besides the point, Lady Sophia. But I get where you're coming from." Morgana said agreeably as Ann spoke up.

"Oof, I think I over-did it. I need to lie down for a bit. You think they have any hammocks here?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up.

"If they don't, worst case you can lay down in the camper once we get moving. I'm pretty sure Boss mentioned there were five beds in there, which is just enough for each of you girls to get your own mattress. Meanwhile, us guys have to cram into sleeping bags on the floor in the one tent set up on the roof. I can just see that being a real fun time." Ren said dryly, his voice starting to gain more snark in the back half of his response. Ren then smirked, telling himself it was worth it to enjoy ramen to the full extent with Ann and Ryuji like they just did. After they got back to Yongen-Jaya, Ann groaned and spoke up.

"Oof, that was not fun. I definitely gained weight after that for sure." Ann said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Oh man, I think I overate. Easy on the road, or else it's all comin' back up for sure." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I doubt Makoto's going to drive that roughly, plus she is your girlfriend, so I'm sure she's gonna want to make the ride nice and enjoyable for you, man." Ren said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up after high-fiving Ren.

"Truth, RenRen! And dude, aren't you psyched? We get to ride in an actual friggin' RV this summer!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"Yep. It'll be more exciting once our whole group is back together, though." Ren said wisely as he started to walk over to where he'd seen Sojiro standing near Leblanc. After he got to Leblanc following a detour to the Velvet Room to do a bit of last-minute Persona management, Ren found Sojiro and Sumire standing together outside of Leblanc, the former of which smirked at Ren and spoke up.

"Hey. About to roll out, Ren?" Sojiro said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Yep, pretty sure I've done everything I can do prep-wise here. So I think it's time for us to get this show on the road. See you later, Boss. And thanks for letting me stay here for a bit. Not for sure on this yet, but I might still be back this way later on this summer, most likely with Kusa in tow. If I don't see you before then, take care." Ren said sagely. Sojiro nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"No problem, Ren. Glad you've still got that same sense of humility and gratitude about you that you always do. All right, hear you loud and clear. Well, here, this isn't for anything, but take this with you. Hope it does you some good on the trip. And make sure you make enough for everyone." Sojiro said as he gave Ren some ingredients in the form of 'Pork', 'Onion', and 'Rice'. Sojiro then smirked and spoke up.

"Well, time for me to pick up your ride. I'll be right back with it. Until then, you and Sumire give everyone else a call and have 'em meet you here." Sojiro said sagely as Ren and Sumire nodded while Sojiro went to go get the camper. Afterwards, Ren handed Sumire back her phone and spoke up.

"Here, before I forget, take your phone back. Not to say I didn't enjoy using it, but I feel weird without my phone on me, if that makes sense. Also, I know you've had enough time without Sophia." Ren said wisely as Sumire nodded and the two swapped phones back to give each other their original phones.

After that, Ren used his phone to send a group chat to tell the others to gather at Leblanc for departure, getting a chorus of affirmative responses from everyone as they silently assembled at Leblanc. After a bit, Sojiro pulled up with the camper, after which everyone filed in, with Ren, Sumire, Ryuji, Haru, Futaba, and Morgana taking the booth seats while Ann sat up in the shotgun seat as Makoto settled into the driver's seat. After everyone was seated and ready to go, Sojiro spoke up.

"Welp, this is it. You sure that you kids are gonna be okay on your own?" Sojiro said as Futaba nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"We'll be fiiine! I mean, probably." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"We'll be okay, Boss. If nothing else, we'll manage until Kusa catches up to us, at which point he'll probably make things flow more smoothly than they already are. Not sure why I feel like he's not gonna be alone, but that's the gut feeling that I get." Ren said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"Ren's right. But just the same, take care, Boss." Yusuke said as Sojiro huffed and spoke up.

"Ugh! Eh, same to you. Be careful out there." Sojiro said as Makoto smiled and spoke up from the driver's seat.

"We will. Thanks, Boss. Bye!" Makoto said as Ren gave Sojiro a smile and a nod of respect that Sojiro proudly returned as the trailer pulled off, leaving a smiling Sojiro to watch as he saw it off.

However, what Sojiro was unaware of at the time was that it was the last thing he would see before hearing a whirring sound as a portal opened up beneath his feet, making him only have enough time to look down at his feet, blink in surprise, and then yell out "WHAT THE-!?" before suddenly being pulled down into the portal and vanishing from the front of Leblanc without a trace, being pulled into another location that, had any of the group stayed behind, they'd have likely recognized as being another new part of the Metaverse.

Additionally, unbeknownst to the group, had they waited like another two to three hours to depart on their trip, they'd have been able to reunite with Kusa, who chose around that point to pull back into Yongen-Jaya in the convertible he'd gotten from Sojiro, with both Sojiro, as well as a certain long-haired missing ally of the group, sitting in the backseat.

As the group started their trip, the camera panned to Haru watching with an amused look on her face as Futaba taunted an annoyed Morgana by holding what appeared to be a dry noodle from a cup of noodles that she had in her other hand, an amused grin on her face. Futaba then spoke up tauntingly.

"Hey, you want some, Morgana? TOO BAD!" Futaba said as Morgana gave off a 'MREOW!' that was a mix of amused and annoyed while Ren just shook his head fondly, knowing that this was just Futaba's way of being herself by shamelessly teasing Morgana. Instead of rebuking her, Ren gently snaked an arm around an unsuspecting Sumire's waist and looked into her eyes as he spoke up, smirking at the sight of the rather shy yet adorable blush on his girlfriend's face at how gently yet lovingly Ren was smiling at her while he spoke.

"Heh, might as well get comfortable, beautiful. We're gonna be here for a while, I think." Ren said slyly as Sumire smiled shyly but nodded her agreement as she leaned her head onto Ren's shoulder, enjoying Ren holding her close to him and ignoring the grinning Ryuji who smirked and yelled out 'Yeah! Summer vacation, here we come!' in excitement on her other side and tuning out the background commentary from the others as she let herself relax on Ren's shoulder as the trip officially got underway...

(Meanwhile, back in the police meeting room with Hasegawa)

"Hmm, am I doing the right thing here?" Hasegawa asked himself as he looked at the mission statement on the board in front of him. At that point, the door opened and Commissioner Kaburagi walked in before she looked at Hasegawa and spoke up.

"Hm? You look unusually serious, Inspector Hasegawa." Commissioner Kaburagi said as Hasegawa blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, Commissioner Kaburagi. My apologies for the serious expression. I've been short on sleep. I've not been on an undercover case in quite some time." Hasegawa said as Commissioner Kaburagi smiled and spoke up.

"Hm. I wholly understand. Have you liaised with the Phantom Thieves?" Commissioner Kaburagi asked as Hasegawa smirked and spoke up.

"Affirmative, Commissioner Kaburagi. I've even gained their cooperation. However, proceedings are very touch-and-go. Some of them are very quick on the uptake. Nevertheless, I guarantee you that I will win them over." Hasegawa said confidently as Commissioner Kaburagi frowned and spoke up.

"Understood. As expected from someone so dependable." Commissioner Kaburagi said as Hasegawa smiled and spoke up.

"Well, I still owe you for taking me under your wing. I'm happy to do whatever you require." Hasegawa said as Commissioner Kaburagi spoke up with a nod.

"I see. In that case, keep at it until you get to the bottom of this case. But, do not get too attached to them. At this point, their arrest is an inevitability." Commissioner Kaburagi said as Hasegawa frowned at this while he spoke up.

"Attached? Nonsense! I haven't been attached to anything in a long time." Hasegawa said as Commissioner Kaburagi gave Hasegawa an amused closed-eye smirk before she spoke up.

"Oh? So you say. And, how's the girl?" Commissioner Kaburagi asked, getting a wince from Hasegawa, who hadn't expected Commissioner Kaburagi to bring up his daughter Akane like she had, which made Commissioner Kaburagi blink as she spoke up.

"Listen, I appreciate your work ethic, but you can't disregard your family for the sake of your job. I want you to go home to your daughter, at least every so often. Understood?" Commissioner Kaburagi asked Hasegawa, who nodded and spoke up.

"Got it. Your message is heard and received loud and clear, ma'am." Hasegawa said as Commissioner Kaburagi nodded in satisfaction and left Hasegawa alone, at which point he spoke up to himself.

"Ugh, yeah. No way she's buying anything about that world, that's for sure. I barely believe it myself. But even so, I've gotta wring a lead out of 'em somehow. Heh, don't take it personally, Phantom Thieves. All I want is for this case to be solved, no matter what it takes. And to do that? I'll use you, however I have to." Hasegawa said to himself with a resolute nod...

(A short time later, back in the inside of the camper/RV, with Ann, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Sumire, Morgana, Sophia, Ren, Yusuke, and Ryuji)

"Umm, we've been at this for a while, yeah? Yo, where are we now?" Ryuji asked as Makoto smiled at Ryuji's question before she spoke up.

"Good question, sweetie. Judging from this map, it looks like we're coming up on Tochigi prefecture. We've come a pretty long way." Makoto said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"Ah. Tochigi, hm? Tochigi is famous for the Nikko Toshogu shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu." Yusuke said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, I've heard the monkey sculptures there are adorable. I wonder if we'll get to see them." Haru said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, I want strawberries! Let's go strawberry-picking!" Ann said happily as Futaba spoke up.

"Apparently, gyoza's pretty big there, too. Utsunomiya's supposed to be THE place for it." Futaba said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Ooh, did you say gyoza!? Aw, hell yeah! We're gonna get some, right?" Ryuji asked as Sumire spoke up.

"Umm, I'm pretty sure that wasn't what Futaba was getting at, Ryuji. But maybe? We'll see." Sumire said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I mean, if we have time, I don't see why we can't? But in all seriousness, I agree with Ann. Let's not rule out the strawberries. If I recall what Kusa told me about them once correctly, they're used for more than just eating. I'm pretty sure Kusa told me once that some people have also used strawberries as aphrodisiacs, if I recall the term that he used to describe them correctly. Or at least I think he said that it was strawberries that do that? If not, it was some sort of fruit that does that." Ren said as Futaba spoke up from where she was leaning on a wall next to Ren, who was still happily holding Sumire close to him.

"I want to say he was referring to cherries, but I might be wrong. But I get where you're goin' with that, bro. You're thinkin' the couples in the group could use that to get into a certain mood, aren't you?" Futaba said, waggling her eyebrows teasingly at Ren, making Sumire huff as she reached carefully behind Ren's back and playfully gave Futaba a light shove and spoke up.

"Oh, come on. You've been spending too much time with Kusa, if you're able to already waggle your eyebrows in the same suggestive/teasing way he does. But I suppose it makes sense, at the same time. After all, he IS your boyfriend as of the last about two and a half years, right Futaba? And you're both right. Last I checked, both strawberries and cherries are considered aphrodisiacs." Sumire said as Futaba childishly stuck her tongue out at Sumire and spoke up.

"That's rich, comin' from the girl who couldn't resist having her way with Ren on the sofa in the attic of Leblanc the night before our big distraction. And before you protest, don't forget that I can see everything that goes on in that room, within reason. Mwehehe." Futaba said as Ren and Sumire both blushed in embarrassment at being caught trying to sneak a booty call the night before the distraction near the end of Alice's Jail. Sophia spoke up at that point.

"Oh. Is that why I had to go sleep over in Futaba's phone that night instead of Sumire's? I was wondering why I couldn't access anything over there that night." Sophia said as Futaba grinned widely and spoke up.

"Oho, is that right? So Sumire shut the phones off to make sure you couldn't see anything she didn't want you to see, did she? At least she's smart enough to child-proof her surroundings before she gets her freak on with Ren. Props for that, Sumire." Futaba said as Ren frowned and spoke up while fixing a suddenly red-faced Futaba with a firm glare while he spoke.

"Do you REALLY have room to use the phrase 'gets her freak on' like that when I know for a fact that you and Kusa snuck off quite a few times to screw around in the local bathhouse at night, Futaba!? And before you attempt to deny it, the owner of the place confronted me about it once, asking if I'd been sneaking Sumire in there at night. I told him I wouldn't do that, because I have a perfectly good attic to use for that.

I then mentioned that my brother also uses the bathhouse and has a red-headed girlfriend of his own, at which point the owner nodded and realized that it was more than likely you that the cameras had caught taking it all off before dragging Kusa into the girls' side of the baths to have your way with him. So for all that you brag about having cameras on your side, I think they're something of a double-edged sword for you, Futaba." Ren said as both Ann and Sumire laughed, the former speaking up.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me that Futaba has an exhibitionist kink in her. Mind you, I didn't think Kusa partook of such things, but then it wouldn't be the first time Futaba's twisted his arm to do something he might not otherwise do." Ann said with a giggle as Sumire spoke up from next to Ren, who was smiling at how comfortable his girlfriend appeared to be leaning on him while she spoke.

"Good point, Ann. That would probably explain why Futaba and Kusa cornered me one day before the dance and tried to ask why I was pretending to be Kasumi instead of Sumire. Apparently, Futaba got suspicious and found an article detailing Kasumi's accident, including the fact that it was in fact Kasumi who died. Caught me completely by surprise too, let me tell you.

But now it makes sense. Of course, I'll admit I could've handled it better, considering my response to it was to call them both liars, and then literally bitch-slap Kusa right off his feet and send him crashing into the couch next to Futaba, where he landed face-first. Granted, I may or may not have also called Futaba a prissy bitch before that out of anger and hurt. However, even if it was said out of hurt, it wasn't okay for me to say that to her. Sorry about that, Futaba." Sumire said as Futaba smiled and spoke up while gently leaning over behind Ren's back after he leaned forward slightly to give Futaba room to lean forward and quickly give Sumire a one-armed hug of reassurance as she spoke.

"I told you, it's water under the bridge, Sumire. Even Kusa forgave you, once his ego got over the snubbing it got when you bitch-slapped him." Futaba said as both Ren and Ryuji burst out laughing and the latter of the two spoke up while high-fiving the former with a wide grin on his face.

"Dude, I realize they say that karma is a bitch, but this takes that saying to a whole new level, right RenRen? Err, not that I'm calling Sumire a bitch, mind you. I'm just saying how ironic it is that she bitch-slapped your brother." Ryuji said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"No worries, Ryuji. I know what you meant, bro. And that is rather ironic. You're not wrong to say it was karmic, though, given it wasn't that long after he did that same thing to you before knocking you out." Ren said as Futaba winced at being reminded of her first experience with seeing Kusa truly lose his temper up-close and personal. Morgana saw this and spoke up, not wanting to bring up, much less think about, the day Ren was alluding to, as it was also not one of Morgana's prouder moments.

"Umm, let's not bring that day back up, yeah? A lot of us did things we're not proud of that day, myself included. I'll freely admit that I was the most in the wrong that day, considering it was my outbursts and my abrupt departure, as well as my foolishly mis-hearing Ren and Futaba's conversation, that set most of that situation off. So I'm sorry for causing all that, you guys. But let's not make Futaba relive bad memories, yeah?

Also, Kusa even said later on that he deserved that slap when he was talking to myself and Futaba, so even Kusa accepts that he and Futaba were in the wrong to approach you the way they did, Sumire. Still, that being said, of all the things to get excited about, you would pick to get excited about the strawberries, Ren." Morgana said agreeably as Futaba gave Morgana a grateful smile for intervening as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Well, it's understandable. We could all use some time to unwind every now and then. And besides, we've already discussed it. We could just go straight to Hokkaido, if we really wanted to. But, instead we decided it would be more worthwhile to check out a variety of places instead of just one." Makoto said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Mako-chan's right. Besides, not only can we see a lot of new places, but we can also get our money's worth out of this trip. That, and there might be Jails in other cities besides Shibuya and Sapporo." Haru said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Haru has a point. And not only that, but the supposed Monarch of Sapporo won't even be in town till the 8th. Therefore as such, we have the time. And to be frank, there's no reason we shouldn't make use of it." Yusuke said as Ren nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Good point, Yusuke. Who knows how long we'll get to use this RV for, anyways? I believe we should pace ourselves, so we can get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of it." Ren said sagely. Morgana nodded from on Sumire's lap as he spoke up.

"Hmm, I hadn't thought about that, Ren. But, I guess you do have a point. And I will admit it seems rather like a point that Kusa would make." Morgana said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Truth! Oh, but I just thought of somethin'. Wait, say we find a Jail before then. Does that mean we're sorta huntin' for Monarchs along the way? Aw, we're takin' the Phantom Thieves to a whole new level! Ohh, this is startin' to feel real badass!" Ryuji said as Ann smiled in the shotgun seat and spoke up.

"True. And well, if there is a Jail? I'm sure Sophia will let us know." Ann said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Leave that to me. I should be able to handle it for us, err I think." Sophia said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, what? You'd think the AI would be a little more sure of herself about something like this, am I right?" Futaba said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Right, Futaba?" Ryuji said before he turned to face the direction of Sumire's phone to look towards Sophia as he kept speaking.

"Yeah, but seriously, who or what are you?" Ryuji asked as Sophia spoke up.

"I already told you. I'm humanity's companion." Sophia said as she hummed her little tune again, making Sumire smile as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but am I the only one who thinks Sophia is absolutely adorable when she does that?" Sumire asked as both Haru and Ann spoke up with smiles on their faces, even if Ann's was a closed-eye smile.

"SECONDED!" Haru and Ann said at the same time, before giggling at their synchronicity, followed by Ren, Sumire, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Futaba shortly after. Ryuji then grinned and spoke up.

"Eh, adorable or not, there she goes singin' again! And you know what they say about girls who sing, am I right RenRen?" Ryuji said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Ryuji? Whatever you do, kindly do not answer that question around Sophia, if only so that I don't have to stop Sumire from picking you up and literally tossing you out of the nearest window while we're moving, because I feel quite confident that she might do exactly that if you try to corrupt Sophia." Ren said seriously as Sumire merely nodded once in the affirmative with a very sly yet deceptively calm smile, making Ryuji wince fearfully as Ann chuckled nervously and spoke up.

"Eheh, aaaaanyways. Don't think too hard about it, guys. I'm sure we'll learn more about Sophia if she sticks around. Isn't that right, Sophia?" Ann said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Yep, that's right, Ann." Sophia said as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, that reminds me, Mako-chan. You've been driving this whole time. Are you okay? I have my license too, so I can always drive if you want." Haru said as Makoto winced at the remark before speaking up as if Haru hadn't said anything unusual.

"Uhh, well, you just got yours, Haru. So I'll try to handle as much of the driving as I can. Besides, with any luck, Kusa-kun will catch up to us sooner rather than later, and he can help share the driving load, since Ren-kun claims Kusa got a license recently." Makoto said as Ann spoke up.

"Umm, speaking of that, does anyone else have their licenses yet? I don't, as embarrassing as that is to admit." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Apologies, but I do not." Yusuke said as Ryuji shook his head and spoke up.

"Me neither, Yusuke. I wanna get mine soon, though. Hey RenRen, do you have one?" Ryuji said as Ren winced and spoke up.

"Sorry, but I do not. I was meaning to apply for it, but then I kept forgetting and/or putting it off. However, the second that I move back to Yongen permanently, that's the first thing on my to-do list." Ren said honestly. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up.

"Well, I guess most of us aren't too far past driving age." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"True. I think the only reason Kusa got his was so he could be able to drive around and take Futaba places. I can see how that could be useful if they get in a particularly wild mood." Ren said with a smirk as Haru frowned and looked towards Makoto as she spoke up.

"Ohh, sorry Mako-chan. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Haru said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"I won't. Although, we might be taking more breaks for now. I wouldn't want to put any of us at risk." Makoto said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"That's fine by me. We want our Makoto to stay nice 'n' well-rested." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up from inside of Sumire's phone.

"So you're going to keep driving, Makoto?" Sophia asked as Makoto smiled and nodded while speaking up.

"I think so, at least for the time being. Hopefully, the rest of the crew will catch up with us by the end of the next couple of Jails, and we can have another rotating driver in Kusa. And maybe multiple licensed drivers, depending on who the reinforcements are that Kusa brings with him, and if any of them have licenses." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"True, but if I'm right, we're going to need at least three licensed drivers, since I'm nearly positive he'll be driving around in Boss' old car when he catches up to us. So we'll need someone to drive that as well as someone to drive this RV." Ren said wisely as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, so we'll need to have drivers for two vehicles at once? That sounds difficult. Is there anything I can do to help?" Sophia asked as Makoto gave Sophia a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Well, since you've asked, do you think you could find us a place to stop and rest? Truth be told, I could probably use a break. We could have lunch there, too." Makoto said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Okay, I'd be happy to. There's a riverbank up ahead that should be perfect." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Lunch by a river, huh? Man, this is feelin' like a real road trip!" Ryuji said happily as the others nodded. After a bit, the RV pulled off to the side, where the group got out and looked at the scenic view of lush trees and sparkling water in the background along with the beautiful white sandy lakeside in front of them. Ryuji grinned and spoke up after the group took in the view.

"Yooo, this spot IS perfect." Ryuji said as Futaba blinked in surprise and spoke up.

"Is this for real? Is this even real? I've only ever seen this kind of place online." Futaba said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Heh, looks like this is one first that Kusa didn't get to experience with you, eh little sis?" Ren said good-naturedly, making Futaba stick her tongue out childishly before blinking as she felt her phone vibrate at that point, pulling it out and being shocked to see a private chat that she discreetly took, very quickly sending a response. While she did that, Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Seriously. And this is the perfect weather for cooking outdoors, too!" Ann said as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile, not seeing Futaba private-chatting next to the trailer while she spoke.

"Shall we get started, then? Boss gave us some ingredients, didn't he?" Makoto asked as Ren nodded and Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee! Oh, this is going to be so nice, cooking lunch with everyone that's here right now." Haru said as Morgana grinned and spoke up from where he was sitting on the hood of the camper.

"All right! We'll leave the main course to you, Ren." Morgana said as Ren nodded, recalling that Boss had given him some specific ingredients, deciding to make some 'Leblanc Curry', since he had the ingredients for it. As he started cooking, Morgana spoke up with glinty eyes.

"Ooh, something smells good! I think we have a winner!" Morgana said as Sumire smiled and spoke up while patting Morgana on the head, as he'd chosen to sit in her lap previously.

"You say that like everything Ren makes isn't a winner, Morgana. Or do I need to point out how much you loved that sushi Ren cooked for you the time I went out to visit him in his hometown about a year and a half ago? I seem to recall that you were in a rather profound state of kitten-like bliss when eating it, were you not?" Sumire said sagely, cutely smirking as Morgana pouted before Sumire grinned at him. Eventually, Morgana just sighed, shook his head in exasperation, and spoke up.

"I hate it when you actually bring out logical arguments, Sumire. Ugh, but you're not wrong, which is the worst part." Morgana said as Sophia giggled cutely from in Sumire's phone as she heard Sumire and Morgana banter as Ren spoke up with a smile as he stirred his cooking.

"Hm, this is looking pretty good, I think." Ren said as he finished his meal, which became a 'Leblanc Curry' item. Futaba groaned as she recognized the smell of the food and spoke up.

"Wait, I know that smell from somewhere. Oh, I know! That's Sojiro's curry! No doubt about it! Ughhh, my stomach! I need some!" Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up while waving his arm dramatically for effect.

"The rice has been prepared! We're ready whenever!" Yusuke said, revealing that Ann, Makoto, and Haru were just off-screen preparing the rice for the curry. After Ren served up enough plates for everyone, they took seats at the table as Ann spoke up. Once everyone was seated, which went as follows in clockwise order: Ren, Sumire, Ryuji, Yusuke, Futaba, Haru, Ann, Makoto, and then Morgana was sitting on the hood and watching the others eat while Sophia took in the experience from inside of Sumire's phone. Ann then spoke up happily with a closed-eye smile on her face..

"Mmm, it's so good! I could eat this forever!" Ann said happily as Yusuke spoke up with his own closed-eye grin.

"Indeed. And to be surrounded by nature in all its splendor makes it taste that much better. Is there more?" Yusuke said as a confident Futaba laughed and spoke up.

"Sorry, Inari. But the great Phantom Thief, Futaba, just swiped the very last plate." Futaba said as Yusuke got a devastated look on his face and spoke up.

"L-Last plate!? Truly? Ohh, fate is cruel indeed." Yusuke said as Sumire giggled despite herself and spoke up.

"You say that like Ren can't just whip us up some more at some point." Sumire said comfortingly to Yusuke as she gently patted him on the shoulder. Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Sumire has a point, Yusuke. Don't act so depressed. It's not like it's the end of the world." Makoto said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"You heard my girlfriend, Yusuke. I'll make it again sometime, when we've got the ingredients for it. Unfortunately, Boss only gave me the ingredients for the one pot worth, or I'd make more right now for you." Ren said kindly while giving a coy wink to Sumire as his way of thanking her for stepping in to comfort Yusuke. Yusuke gave Ren a shocked yet relieved look as he spoke up.

"You will!? Please do, Ren!" Yusuke said as the group finished their plates, at which point Ryuji smiled and spoke up.

"Ahhh, that was killer. I can't even move right now, I'm so stuffed." Ryuji said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I agree, Ryuji-kun. I'm full too. How about I pour us some tea and we can all just relax?" Haru suggested as the others politely nodded as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"I'm down! Ooh, why don't we roast marshmallows later on, too?" Ann said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Geez, you're seriously still thinkin' about food?" Ryuji said as Ann spoke up.

"What of it? There's always room for sweets. Besides, I know Sumire will back me when I say there's no such thing as too much food, with how big of an appetite she has." Ann said with a smirk as Sumire blushed and spoke up.

"U-Um, I dunno if I agree with that, but sure? We can go with that, I guess?" Sumire said warily as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile, not seeing Futaba resuming her private chat from before as she spoke.

"All right, we'll finish our break with some tea and sweets and then get going." Makoto said as everyone nodded their agreement while enjoying their break. Soon enough, the group was back in the trailer and resuming the drive...

(Later that evening, in the RV with Makoto, Ann, Haru, Sophia, Futaba, Morgana, Sumire, Ren, Yusuke, and Ryuji)

"Hmm, I feel like we've been on the road for a while. Where are we now?" Morgana asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, we'll be entering Sendai soon. And I believe the plan was to stop off there for the night, unless I'm wrong?" Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up after sending another reply and putting her phone away as she spoke up.

"Nah, that sounds pretty much on the money, Inari. Still, we made a lotta stops, but no sign of any Jails, huh?" Futaba asked as Sumire smirked and spoke up.

"True, but I don't think you were entirely paying attention for some of it, Futaba. I saw you on your phone. Not sure who you'd be private chatting with, since everyone is here for the most part, to be honest." Sumire said as Futaba spoke up.

"Need I remind you that at least two of us are NOT here, Sumire? And to answer your unspoken question, it was actually Kusa I was private chatting. Apparently, he got back into Yongen-Jaya like literally 30 minutes or so after we left, so if we'd held off on leaving for a little while longer, we'd have reunited with him already. Oh well, it is what it is. I just told him we're stopping off in Sendai, and he mentioned he might try and head out that way to catch up to us once he stops off to check in with Sojiro and restock/refuel.

He did hint that he was going to have as many as two others with him, confirming he did get at least some reinforcements for us, but he was rather elusive about it when I asked him who they were. But the way he mentioned not wanting to ruin the surprise makes me think they're both people we know." Futaba said as Ren and Sumire blinked and exchanged a confused look as the latter spoke up.

"Oh, really? Given the mission he was on, I think Ren and I can probably guess who at least one of those reinforcements might be, though if we're right, I'm surprised he found him alive. But I have no clue who the other one could be." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"Hmm, well given who one of the reinforcements likely is, and given how Kusa's luck can be at times, imagine if Ann's girlfriend was the other reinforcement he got for us." Ren said as Ann stuck her tongue out childishly at Ren as she spoke up.

"First of all, Shiho was already in Yongen-Jaya before we left, if you recall the day she ran into us at that shoot. Also, she may or may not have been staying at my apartment with me for a short time not that long ago." Ann said sheepishly as Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"Oho, what's this? Was Ann shackin' up with her girlfriend? How steamy! Mwehehe, and here I thought Ren and Sumire would be the first of us to shack up together." Futaba said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Be nice, Futaba. First of all, if you think about it, Sumire and I ARE the first ones to shack up, since we've been staying together in Leblanc for about a week at this point, whereas I'm guessing Ann and Shiho only started staying together recently? Secondly, I just said Shiho as a guess since she was the only other person I can think of we might have as reinforcements for Kusa to get. I mean, who else could it be, other than maybe Boss?" Ren joked as Futaba and Sumire both spoke up.

"RUDE!" Futaba and Sumire both said as the latter spoke up.

"While I can see why you'd guess that, why did your mind jump specifically to Boss of all people, Ren? Also, when would he have had the chance to be in the Metaverse, let alone have the chance to go through the sufficient sort of ordeal for him to have awakened to a Persona like we have?" Sumire pointed out sagely as Futaba nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"Exactly, Sumire! Also, while I'm amused you suggested Sojiro, I have to ask. Do you even think Sojiro is even capable of summoning a Persona at his age?" Futaba pointed out as Yusuke spoke up.

"I think he is. After all, he looks to be around the same age as Hasegawa-san, if not a slight bit older. But in all seriousness, I think we'll have to wait and see who these 'reinforcements' end up being." Yusuke said as Makoto's eyes widened and she spoke up.

"Wait, that's right! I remember now! Kusa-kun was talking about how he had like a dozen different colleges all reach out to offer him scholarships once. And if he stopped off in Yongen-Jaya to refuel and restock, it's not out of the question that he talked Boss into coming along, even if he doesn't have a Persona to speak of. So I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Boss as one of the reinforcements." Makoto said as Ann smirked and spoke up.

"Good point, Makoto! I could see him doing that. And well, to be honest? I'm definitely feeling a little more relaxed now that we've had a few breaks. I wouldn't want those things popping up everywhere, though. Also, it's getting kinda dark. How 'bout we call it a day?" Ann said as Makoto nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"Yes, I agree. We should decide where we want to stay for tonight." Makoto said as Ryuji spoke up.

"True, but shouldn't we eat first? I mean, what's good food to eat in Sendai?" Ryuji asked as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"Ooh, good question! As far as local delicacies go, there's always beef tongue. There are plenty of specialty shops around." Haru said as Yusuke spoke up with a frown.

"Nonsense! Delicious as that sounds, we must go to Mount Aoba Park and see the remains of Sendai Castle. From what I've read, they house a statue of the late Date Masamune. I'd very much like to see the 'One-Eyed Dragon' for myself." Yusuke said as Ren and Ryuji both blinked as the former spoke up.

"See the WHAT!? Is he seriously called that? Also, am I the only one here who thought Yusuke was about to make an innuendo out of that?" Ren asked as Sumire spoke up with a smile.

"Ren, you're thinking of a 'one-eyed monster', and not a 'one-eyed dragon'. Not that I would have any experience with seeing one of those up-close or anything." Sumire said slyly as Ren and Futaba exchanged wide-eyed looks of shock as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"What's so bad about Yusuke making an innuendo, anyways? It's not like he said anything inappropriate, right?" Sophia asked innocently. Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Uhh, yeeeeah, moving right along. Ehh, I wanna take a bath first. I'm not sleeping in the camper all sweaty and sticky." Futaba said as Morgana sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Geez, are you all serious? We're all over the place on this one. I think Kusa was also the one who kept us organized, it seems." Morgana said with a frown as Haru nervously chuckled and spoke up.

"Good point, Mona-chan. Um, w-well, that's a problem. What should we do?" Haru said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I do believe I just said we should pace ourselves earlier, did I not? Therefore, I think we'll have plenty of time to do it all." Ren said sagely. Sumire spoke up.

"Well said, Ren. I love how calm and unflappable you are most of the time." Sumire said as she smiled happily at Ren while Sophia spoke up with a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was on a stand between Haru and Futaba on the table.

"Ah, this is where I come in. Searching for all of the following: 'overnight parking lots', 'beef tongue', 'Date Masamune', and 'nearby bathhouses'. Leave it to me, everyone. I'll find us the most efficient route to everything you've suggested." Sophia said as Ann gasped in surprise while speaking up.

"Wow, you can do all that, Sophia?" Ann asked as Sophia smiled cutely and spoke up.

"Aww, it's nothing special. I'm just doing a wide search and lining up our destinations. We should first head to the parking lot at Mount Aoba Park. Then we can walk to the statue of Masa...mune...eh? Huh? Hm!?" Sophia said, trailing off near the end of her explanation, making Ryuji blink as he spoke up.

"Hm? What's up?" Ryuji asked as Sophia spoke up with a frown.

"This smell is vaguely familiar to me. I might be wrong, but there might be a Jail here." Sophia said as the others all looked at her in shock before Sumire spoke up.

"Are you sure, sweetie? I know you're trying to be helpful, but there's no shame in knowing your own limits." Sumire said as Ryuji spoke up in shock.

"Whoa, for real? You can really tell just off that, huh?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up, his eyes wide in shock while he spoke.

"I gotta back Sumire on this one. Are you sure, Sophia?" Morgana asked as Sophia smiled at him and spoke up.

"I think so. I can't pinpoint it yet, and that may be because of the distance, but this feels the same as Shibuya." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"I see. Well, you've been pretty well on the nose with your instincts so far, Sophia. So I think we can trust your instincts again here. In that case, Sendai it is." Ren said decisively. Makoto nodded her agreement as she spoke up with a frown.

"All right, then. We're heading to Sendai. We shouldn't be too much longer." Makoto said as Futaba pulled out her phone to shoot off a private chat to Kusa with the group's current destination before putting her phone away as the group continued the drive in silence...

(A short time later, in the parking lot of Mount Aoba Park in Sendai, with Ryuji, Makoto, Ann, Haru, Futaba, Yusuke, Morgana, Ren, Sophia, and Sumire)

"Well, Sophia? Can you smell the Jail?" Makoto asked after the group got out of the RV once she'd parked it. Sophia paused before nodding in affirmation as she spoke up.

"I wasn't sure at first, to be honest. But yes, I'm sure of it. There's a Jail somewhere in this city." Sophia said as Haru spoke up in surprise.

"I see. So there really are more Jails besides the one in Shibuya?" Haru said as Morgana spoke up with a firm nod.

"I trust Sophia on this one. So if she says there's a Jail here, then there's a Jail here. But anyways, if there is a Jail, then something rotten is surely going on somewhere around town." Morgana said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"You're right, of course. We'll need to look into that first." Makoto said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"And how are we supposed to do that? Sendai's a pretty big city, after all. So I dunno if we can cover all of it fast enough if we stick together as a group." Futaba said as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"Good point, Futaba-chan. We could check some of the popular sightseeing spots, perhaps? We might hear something if there's people around." Haru said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up with a grin.

"Great thinking, Haru. And what's more, we're right here in Mount Aoba Park, home to the statue of Lord Masamune." Yusuke said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up while he stretched.

"Dude, you can check out the statue tomorrow. I'm starvin'!" Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Excuse me. There's no guarantee the statue will still be here come sunrise. A trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, is it not? Once you've set a plan, you must act on it without delay." Yusuke said as Futaba sighed and spoke up, her tone slightly dripping annoyance as she spoke.

"Ugh, and there he goes again. I'll never understand any of that logic of his, but I suppose such is the way of the Inari." Futaba said as Haru looked at Makoto before speaking up to change the subject.

"By the way, Mako-chan, did you find out if it's okay for us to sleep in the car tonight?" Haru asked as Makoto smiled and nodded before speaking up.

"Yes, I actually just got confirmation. At least we won't have to worry about finding a place to sleep. And it looks like there are lots of sightseers here, so we should have plenty of chances to ask around." Makoto said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"That's good. Should we check out the statue? It's only a short walk from here, right?" Ann asked uncertainly as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. It's close. Very close." Sophia said as Yusuke smiled happily and spoke up.

"Oh? In that case, let us depart! Lord Masamune awaits!" Yusuke said as the group nodded and headed on their way, none of them seeing the rustling bush nearby, nor the pair of silhouettes that darted off into the shadows, having listened in on the group's conversation. As the group headed on their way, Morgana spoke up from inside of Ren's bag, a grin on his face as he spoke up.

"So, this is Mount Aoba Park, eh? I like it. A nice, refined little place, and it's even got a shrine. All right, let's go check out Date Masamune's statue. It's supposed to be near here." Morgana said as Ren nodded and headed on his way, Sumire walking next to him with a smile on her face. After a bit of a walk, the group found themselves standing in a very scenic location, where there where short green hedge bushes as far as the eye could see.

However, what had the group's attention was the diminutive looking statue of a man in samurai garb sitting astride a magnificent galloping stallion, which was itself placed onto a rather tall pedestal that even Yusuke, as the tallest of the group, had to look up to see. Futaba gasped as she spoke up while looking at the statue.

"Ohh, so this is it! This is that Masamune statue that Inari was going on and on about." Futaba said as Sumire frowned from next to Ren and spoke up.

"Be nice, Futaba. He only mentioned it twice at most. That is not 'going on and on' as you put it, as far as I'm aware. But yes, you are right. I do believe this is that same statue." Sumire said gently but firmly as Ren nodded his agreement. Futaba smiled as she spoke up.

"Eh, fair enough. Still, he looks so cool! I bet he'd be cutting down Shadows left and right if he were in a Jail with us!" Futaba said as Yusuke nodded his agreement before he did a closed-eye smile while he spoke up.

"Indeed. Such remarkable craftsmanship. It's truly the 'One-Eyed Dragon' in all his glory!" Yusuke said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Aww, how cute. Looks to me like Yusuke might have himself another man-crush." Sumire joked as both Futaba and Ren exchanged shocked looks at the rare display of teasing from Sumire before they both burst out laughing. After they got their laughter under control, Ren frowned at Sumire and spoke up.

"Now, now. Be nice, Sumire. It's not Yusuke's fault he loves things so deeply. Besides, I think we both know that his heart is firmly the property of his girlfriend anyways. That said, get a load of how majestic this statue looks." Ren said sagely. Yusuke nodded his appreciation of Ren coming to his defense while speaking up.

"Indeed. I should have expected as much from such an icon. We must come back during the day and-" Yusuke said before cutting himself off mid-sentence as he noticed the massive array of red and black posters lining the base of the statue and frowning as he kept speaking.

"Hm? Why are all these posters lining the base of the statue?" Yusuke asked, drawing the group's attention to the posters as they walked over for a closer look. Ryuji frowned as he spoke up while examining the posters.

"The hell? What's all this about?" Ryuji asked as Haru peered closely at the posters and spoke up.

"Let's see. This one says 'Prince of Nightmares, Volume 1, 20th Reissue Celebration!' Wait, what? 20th Reissue!?" Haru said as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Um, seems like it to me, Haru. Wait, '20th Reissue Celebration?' So they're promoting a book? I doubt they got permission to do this. Maybe it's some kind of prank?" Makoto suggested as Yusuke scowled and spoke up in annoyance.

"If so, it's a prank in very bad taste. What a reprehensible miscreant, putting up such tasteless flyers for their own gain like this." Yusuke said as Makoto nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"Agreed. Let's take them down." Makoto said as the group worked together to remove the posters from the base of the statue. After the job was finished, and the posters were properly disposed of, Makoto did a closed-eye smile as she kept speaking.

"Ahh, that's better." Makoto said as Ryuji turned to Yusuke and spoke up with a slight frown.

"Well? You happy, Yusuke?" Ryuji asked Yusuke, who spoke up with his own closed-eye smile.

"Yes, now that I've seen the great Masamune. Oh, um, my apologies for taking up so much of everyone's time. Let's move on." Yusuke said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Good, that's over with. All right, that's one item off the list. Next up, beef tongue city!" Futaba said as Morgana spoke up with glinty eyes.

"Mwehehe, yesss! Beef tongue! Now, let's see if these local flavors are enough to impress a sophisticated palate like mine." Morgana said as Sumire smirked and spoke up.

"And who says you get to go, Morgana? I do believe that most restaurants have a very strict no-pets policy? And with apologies to you, your form is kinda that of a cat. So that kinda leaves our hands tied in this case." Sumire said as Morgana turned a wide-eyed, horrified gaze onto Sumire as both Ren and Futaba laughed at the look on Morgana's face as Ren spoke up.

"Relax, Morgana. We both know you'll just sneak yourself in there inside my bag anyways, so don't get so worked up. Plus, Sumire's just teasing you. I thought you knew that by now?" Ren said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. Although, come to think of it, hasn't it been a while since you last had beef tongue, Ren? I think you said you had it once while you spent the year in Yongen-Jaya about three years ago with Kusa?" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"Longer than that. I was in middle school the last time I had some beef tongue. It was one of the few times that I can recall in recent memory that Dad and I went anywhere, just the two of us. I know I said I had a bit of disappointment in him and Mom for not doing more when Kusa and I were shipped over here at first. However, we sat down and had a talk after I returned, and I realized that I was being unfair to Mom and Dad, since they had their hands tied, given that they had to either agree to send us both away, or have both Kusa and I brought up on charges.

Apparently, the reason Kusa wasn't arrested was because it was the legal system's way of ensuring Mom and Dad signed off on both of us going into exile. So yeah, it's been closer to five to six years since I last had beef tongue. Hopefully it's still as good as I recall it being." Ren said wisely. Sophia frowned and spoke up from inside of Sumire's phone.

"Oh, sorry Morgana. Sumire does have a point. It might be hard to get in if we bring a cat along." Sophia said apologetically before wincing at Morgana's reaction to Sophia's remark, as this time Sophia was the one getting the wide-eyed gaze of horror from Morgana as he spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Morgana said in a mix of shock, horror, and outrage. Futaba winced at this and spoke up.

"Ohh, oops. I forgot to allow for Morgana's presence when I suggested beef tongue. Sorry about that." Futaba said as the group headed to find a beef tongue restaurant..

(A short time later, in a beef bowl restauarant in Sendai, with Futaba, Makoto, Haru, Ann, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Morgana, Ren, and Ryuji)

"Hoooly shit! Is this for real!? This meat! It's so thick! So soft! Damn, that's good!" Ryuji said happily as he enjoyed his meal. Futaba winced as she spoke up.

"Eww! Ryuji, cut it out! You're spitting all over me!" Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Ahh, so amazing. Truly a meal of epic proportions." Yusuke said, looking close to tears. Sumire saw this and spoke up with a sly grin.

"Oh, what's this? Are you that moved by it, Yusuke?" Sumire said coyly as Ann spoke up with a nervous chuckle.

"Eheh, I think you're right, Sumire. Ahaha, um guys? I think Yusuke's crying over here." Ann said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Oh, is that so? It's not a crime for a man to cry, you know." Ren said sagely, recalling a time when he and Kusa had also been moved to tears. Makoto winced and spoke up with a look that was a cross of confused, horrified, and shocked.

"Umm, I don't even want to know what Yusuke's regular diet is like if this is enough to make him cry tears of joy. Either way, food's delicious." Makoto said as Morgana whined and spoke up from Ren's bag.

"Hey! Let me have some, too!" Morgana said pitifully as Ryuji frowned at Morgana and spoke up.

"Dude, I swear. You are the noisiest cat on the planet. Ask Ren to split some with you." Ryuji said as Ren looked down at Morgana and spoke up.

"Not now, Morgana. I'll get some in a to-go container and you can have your share later when we get back to the RV. Fair enough?" Ren said kindly. Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"You heard the dude. Too bad. Just gotta make do with the smell." Ryuji said while grinning as he appreciated the scent of the beef tongue. Unbeknownst to any of the group, a trio of nearby figures heard this and just shook their heads, not at all surprised by this by-play from Ryuji. *2*

As they kept eating, the short-haired member of the trio resisted the urge to give their presence away by rebuking Ryuji for being rude to Morgana. That struggle wasn't helped in the slightest when Morgana spoke up again.

"Hey, don't be such a pig! I'm hungry too, you know!" Morgana said, making the short-haired male of the nearby trio sigh as he went back to his food, making a note to have a conversation with Morgana when he had a chance about not being so loud in public. At that point, Ryuji spoke up.

"Yo, not so loud, you idiot!" Ryuji quietly rebuked Morgana. At that same time, a nearby woman blinked at the sound of Ryuji's voice, and of Morgana's meows, and spoke up to herself.

"Hm? Is that a cat I hear?" The woman said to herself. At that point, the group's eyes, as well as the eyes of the nearby trio, widened at hearing the woman's remark. Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Oh shit, did she hear us?" Ryuji asked as the woman turned to face the group as she got up and walked over before speaking up, at which point Ren gave the woman an appraising glance, taking in the long cream-colored trench coat she wore open over a white and light grey striped button up dress shirt framed by her flowing shoulder-length brown hair, dark grey leggings, and black pull-on shoes, topped off by the silver hoop earring dangling off a smaller silver chain hanging from her left ear. Ren found himself also noticing the skeptical and unconvinced look in the woman's striking grey eyes while she spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal. Was I hearing things just now? I could've sworn I heard a cat just now." The woman said as Ann spoke up worriedly.

"Oh, uh, nope! Not a real cat, at least. Eheh. We were just practicing our cat sounds! Eheh, uhh, right, Ryuji!?" Ann said, getting skeptical looks from not only Sumire and Makoto, but also all three of the other nearby diners who'd heard Ryuji and Morgana, as she gave Ryuji a pointed look. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Uhh, yeah, what she said. Umm, meow?" Ryuji said, in a very unconvincing attempt to imitate Morgana. Ren spoke up at that point.

"Yeeah, it's a work in progress still. What you likely heard was his attempts at practicing his meows." Ren said calmly, making both Ann and Sumire blink at how casually and nonchalantly he'd said that, to say nothing of the wide-eyed look of shock that the short-haired male in the nearby trio gave to the ponytailed male with light brown hair. At that point, the woman laughed and spoke up.

"Oh, come on now. No need for such excuses. You're not fooling anyone. It sounds to me like he's in the bag of the gentleman with glasses. Aw, that's sweet. Are you going to share? You and your cat should partake in the finest beef tongue this restaurant has to offer!" The woman said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up in shock.

"What the-!? Hey, not so loud!" Ryuji said, barely keeping his own voice down, to the collective surprise of the nearby trio of diners watching the scene unfold. The woman gave the group a sheepish look as she spoke up.

"Oops, sorry, sorry. You're right. If you get thrown out, no more beef tongue. By the way, is this your first time having Sendai beef tongue? I should tell you, the oxtail soup's to die for, if you've not already tried it. Oh, did you know that oxtail soup is packed with collagen? A lot of people seem to think it's good for your skin and physique.

They say it's not as effective when ingested, but there's a fair number of reports that suggest otherwise. Human cognition can be quite misleading. You may think you feel a change when none has occurred. This is the placebo effect and-" The woman said, seemingly oblivious to the uninterested looks on the faces of most of the group. Nearby, the light brown haired male of the observing trio spoke up with a very deadpan groan.

"Really? And here I thought we were done with bad monologuing when we changed Maruki's heart. But this? Ugh, shoot me into the sun now, please." The light brown haired male deadpanned as the male with short brown hair quietly chuckled at the light brown haired male's reaction and spoke up in an amused chuckle so that only the light brown haired male, along with Ren, who was sitting the closest to the trio, could hear.

"Be fair here, man. At least Maruki had good intentions with his monologuing. This chick, on the other hand? She just seems to like the sound of her own voice. But now's not the time to act. Have patience, Goro." The male with short brown hair said to the now-named Goro, who huffed but nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. I'll hold my tongue for now, then." Goro said as the trio went back to their meal, unaware of Ren hearing the exchange between the two that had spoken and having his eyes widen slightly at hearing the name Goro pass the lips of the short-haired male, but saying nothing for now as Ryuji winced and spoke up to get his attention.

"Yo, dude. Is it just me, or does it seem like she's just goin' on and on to her herself speak?" Ryuji asked Ren, who shrugged and spoke up.

"Seems like it, man. Oh, well." Ren said as Ann spoke up with a frown.

"True, but does she even notice us talking right now?" Ann asked as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"I don't think so. But anyways, this overwhelming onslaught of pointless facts can only mean one thing. We've got ourselves a nerd, ladies and gentlemen." Futaba said bluntly as both Sumire and Sophia giggled at the same time while the former spoke up.

"Like you have any room to talk about her being a nerd. Correct me if I'm wrong Futaba, but aren't you the main nerd of this group?" Sumire pointed out in amusement as Ren spoke up.

"Be nice to her, Sumi. She's still our nerd. And she's kind of the unofficial little sister of the group, in a way. Although, maybe that got usurped a bit by Sophia? Not sure." Ren said as Ryuji turned to the woman and spoke up, partly to cut off her lengthy speech.

"Uh, hey? Sorry about, y'know, the bag thing before." Ryuji said as the woman blinked and spoke up.

"Huh? What? Oh, you mean the cat? Don't worry, I won't tell the staff or anything. By the way, are you all students?" the woman asked as Ren spoke up.

"Honestly? Yeah. We're all graduates of high school, on a gap period before starting college. So I guess that'd technically make us college students?" Ren said as the woman blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hm? Well, I suppose I could see a couple of you being in college, but not you specifically. Despite the fact that you do look about the right age, I still sense a certain air of innocence about you. In which case, you'll be taking your entrance exams soon, right? Have you decided where you're going to apply yet?" The woman said as the others gave her confused looks before she spoke up, none of them noticing the wide-eyed look of shock on the face of the short-haired male at how perceptive this woman seemed to be. After nudging Goro to get his attention, the short-haired male spoke up so only the two of them, and the bearded man with them who was the third member of their trio, could hear.

"Oi, Goro! Do you think that chick's totally giving off major sus energy, or am I just imagining it?" The short-haired male asked as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"No, I sensed it too, brother. I think we might just have to keep a close eye on her, in case she ends up being a threat down the line." Goro said wisely as the short-haired male nodded before the bearded man spoke up, having to speak very low so as not to have his voice carry to anyone else's ears but the trio's.

"You have a point, Goro. I do get a certain sort of enigmatic vibe off that woman." The bearded man said wisely as the trio went back to their meal. Back with the group, the woman smiled at them and kept speaking.

"Hm? Oh, do forgive me. Where are my manners? It occurs to me that I've not even introduced myself yet. I'm Kuon Ichinose. I work as a researcher over at Toho University. Hey, you guys should come check out the campus. It's way up in the mountains, but it's a lot of fun. Lots of bears this season, too." The now-named Ichinose said as Futaba winced and spoke up, making the short-haired male have to resist the urge to comfort her, lest he alert to the others to the trio's presence by doing so.

"B-Bears?" Futaba said as Sumire spoke up with a smirk.

"Yes, Futaba. Bears. I know you're still getting used to the world to an extent, but surely you're not scared of some bears?" Sumire said as Futaba spoke up.

"I'm not scared of them. I have just heard a lot of horror stories about them, that's all." Futaba said, as at that same time, the short-haired male swore profusely under his breath, forgetting he'd told Futaba stories about bears previously. Sumire smirked and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Fair enough." Sumire said as a wide-eyed Ryuji spoke up.

"Oh, uh, that's a nice offer and all. But, you know, we kinda got something goin' on already, so we don't exactly got the time to be takin' too many detours." Ryuji explained as Ichinose gave the group a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"I see, I see. Yes, well, it's important that you do what you want while you're still young. Allow me to impart a little treat till next we meet." Ichinose said, handing some 'Candy' to Ryuji, who blinked before reluctantly accepting it as he spoke up.

"Uh, sure, if you say so?" Ryuji said as both Goro and the short-haired male groaned and simultaneously grumbled 'what an idiot!' under their breath from nearby as Ichinose spoke up with a smile.

"Well, then. I've had my fill of beef tongue, so it's probably best if I get going. Farewell, young ones." Ichinose said as she turned and left. After she left, Ann winced and spoke up.

"Soo, that was a thing we just lived through, wasn't it? So, uh, she was weirdly energetic, huh?" Ann said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"That's one way to put it, Ann. Well, thankfully, we avoided getting in trouble. We should be grateful she didn't tell on us." Makoto said as Morgana winced and spoke up in a mixed sheepish/apologetic/contrite tone.

"Yeeah, sorry. That was my fault that whole thing just happened." Morgana said from Ren's bag. Ryuji sighed and spoke up.

"Nah, it wasn't just your fault. I got carried away, too. My bad, Morgana." Ryuji said as Haru spoke up.

"Sorry, Mona-chan. We'll buy you some sasa-kamaboto later." Haru said as Morgana spoke up while giving Haru a closed-eye smile.

"Oh? You mean the fish cake on the skewers with that nice layer of char on top!? Ooh, I can't wait!" Morgana said eagerly from Ren's bag, none of the group seeing the short-haired male massaging his forehead, quietly grumbling under his breath about incompetent buffoons who can't differentiate between code names and real names as he went back to his meal, ignoring the amused smirks from his companions, who were just amused at the predictable reaction from the short-haired male. However, the group's attention, plus that of the trio, was drawn by some people speaking up nearby.

"Oh, his latest work was just perfect. I was up all night reading it. Two nights in a row, if you can believe that!" A passionate woman said from nearby as the excited woman next to her spoke up.

"I can. Oh, speaking of which, I read in a magazine interview that he's going to be at the station today for some reason. There's no way I'm missing that!" The excited woman said as over with the trio, Goro and the short-haired male exchanged skeptical looks, both agreeing that this merited closer investigation.

Back with the group, Makoto frowned as she spoke up, the entire group still unaware of the trio sitting nearby, with the possible exception of Ren, who'd heard the trio talking briefly and caught the short-haired male name-dropping Goro's name, making Ren frown at the fact that he recognized the name Goro from somewhere. His attention was drawn back to the present as Makoto spoke.

"All right, let's finish eating. And quietly this time." Makoto said rebukingly while giving Ryuji and Morgana pointed looks as they spoke up in unison.

"Yes, ma'am." Ryuji and Morgana said together, as Ren, Sumire, and even the nearby short-haired male all chuckled at the unlikely synchronicity between them as Ren idly noted that the beef tongue was amazing as the group finished their meal in silence. When they exited the restaurant after paying for their meal, Ryuji spoke up once the group was a safe distance away, none of them noticing the trio exiting behind them and walking off the other direction.

"Whew, I'm stuffed. That meal was great." Ryuji said happily as Futaba frowned at him and spoke up.

"Good for you. But at the same time, I'm both confused and jealous. Your appetite might be able to rival Sumire's! How you can eat five bowls of rice is beyond me, Ryuji! Is your stomach a black hole or something?" Futaba said as Ren slyly smirked and spoke up as he gently patted Sumire on the head.

"You think that's bad, little sis? Sumire here ate through SEVEN bowls of rice, AND three regular entrees! She's way got Ryuji beat in terms of appetite." Ren said with a smirk as both Futaba and Ryuji's eyes widened as they spoke up in unison.

"FOR REAL!?" Futaba and Ryuji said as a blushing Sumire pouted at Ren and spoke up in embarrassment while lightly smacking him on the arm.

"REN! Don't exaggerate like that! I only had five bowls of rice, the same as Ryuji. And I most certainly did NOT eat three regular entrees! That was you! Granted, you only ate two rice bowls, but still! Don't lump your eating on me, Ren." Sumire said while cutely pouting as Ren spoke up with a contrite nod.

"Sorry, beautiful. Was just teasing you a bit to try and make Ryuji feel better if I can." Ren said apologetically as Ryuji grinned and high-fived an amused Ren while speaking up.

"Hell yeah, RenRen! You get me! And Futaba? Look, if they're offering free refills, then you can bet I'm orderin' 'em." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile, not seeing the confused looks that Haru, Makoto and Ann all exchanged nearby while he spoke.

"Indeed. You can eat the first bowl and focus exclusively on the glistening of the meat, then the aroma on the next, and so on." Yusuke said as Ryuji hung his head and spoke up.

"Um, no. I'm pretty sure that's just you, my dude." Ryuji said gently to Yusuke as Sumire spoke up.

"Not necessarily. I seem to recall a time or two that Kusa did something similar in that he savored his meal and focused on different aspects of it at various points. So maybe it's just a thing that those who are into art-based stuff do?" Sumire said with a shrug as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"That seems like a viable theory to me, Sumire-chan. And well, I will say the food here certainly is delicious!" Haru said as Ann cheered and pumped a fist while giving a closed-eye smile in Sumire's direction, since Sophia was in Sumire's phone, as she spoke up.

"Yeah, good job, Sophia!" Ann said as Sophia smiled cutely and spoke up.

"Heh, no prob. It was, as they say, 'a piece of cake'." Sophia said as Morgana and Sumire winced and the latter spoke up.

"Um, pretty sure no one says that much these days, Sophia. Well, not no one. I think I remember both Akechi-kun and Kusa-kun saying it a few times each before. But it's not a popular thing to say either way." Sumire said gently. Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. Regardless of if Sophia's speech is cool or not, guess we should leave where we eat up to Sophia, huh?" Ryuji said with a grin, before hearing the sounds of a crowd nearby and blinking as he kept speaking.

"Hm? What's goin' on with that crowd over there?" Ryuji asked as the camera panned over to where a crowd of people was gathered around a young man with dark blonde hair, glasses, and a black business suit. An excited woman in the crowd spoke up.

"Natsume-san, your latest issue was just as amazing as always!" The excited woman said as a fervent man then spoke up.

"Natsume-san, over here! Can you please sign my copy!?" The fervent man said as the camera panned to zoom in on the man standing in front of the crowd, showing that his hair was in fact not dark blonde, but brown. He also had on glasses with rose-tinted lenses, a purple tie, and his business suit had grey arms instead of black. The man then spoke up.

"Heheh. Thank you for all your support. Whoa, hold on now, only one autograph per person, please. Oh, and my apologies, but could the men please go to the back of the line? Ladies first, you see." The prideful man said as over in one part of the crowd, a dark-haired male with a small but scruffy beard scoffed at the ostentatious display by the prideful young man as he spoke up.

"Is this guy for real? Anyone with a brain can tell that this guy's clearly pandering. And I'm not kidding when I say that, either. Think about it! You weren't even this bad when you used to get up to your flights of fancy, Takuto! Even my wife will vouch for that, and she barely knows you! Right, honey?" The dark-haired male said as his wife nodded and spoke up with a pleasant-sounding, if a bit monotone, voice.

"Right you are, Shibusawa dearest. It's a bit unfortunate that Takuto-kun and Rumi-san didn't get back together, but these things happen sometimes. Right, Takuto?" The dark-haired male's wife said to the dark-haired male, now identified as 'Shibusawa'. Next to Shibusawa, a male with a scruffy brown beard which matched his equally brown hair, glasses which hid his striking hazel eyes, and an unreadable expression spoke up, one who Shibusawa's wife had called 'Takuto'.

"While that is true, I don't know that I'd say that it was for the best that we didn't work out. After all, it was one of the most painful things I've ever had to do, letting Rumi go so she could get the healing she needs. We all know how badly she had it when she lost her parents. So I can't be selfish and deny her the treatment and help that she needs to get closure from her past.

After all, a young couple I know once taught me that you can't run from the past, no matter how painful it might be to look back on. And if nothing else, I owe it to them to do everything I can to make the most of this new start I've given myself. At least you and Shibusawa have managed to be happy with one another, no?" The brown-haired male, or one Takuto Maruki, said to Shibusawa's wife, who nodded as Shibusawa spoke up.

"Perhaps, but be honest with yourself, Takuto! Do you still miss Rumi? Surely you can't be over her that easily?" Shibusawa asked Maruki, but instead of Maruki, the voice that answered was that of a black-haired female with black eyes, who had an amused smile on her face as she spoke up from her spot next to Maruki, who she just so happened to end up standing next to.

"Whether he's over her or not, that's for him to figure out, isn't it? Also, I agree with your assessment of Natsume-san. He is a bit showy and flashy. I only came here because I heard he was doing a book signing here. That, and I heard one of my pupils was here with her friends on a road trip, so I thought I might see about surprising her." The black-haired female said as Takuto slowly gave a nod of appreciation to her for coming to his defense before his eyes widened in recognition as he spoke up after taking in the black-haired female's appearance, as well as her outfit, which comprised a pair of black sweatpants with white stripes down the legs as well as a dark blue sleeveless sports top with a grey jacket worn open over it, along with some comfortable-looking teal athletic shoes with black lining.

"Thank you. That was very-Wait! You said one of your pupils was here? Actually, now that I think on it more, I feel like I've seen you somewhere else before. Ah, I know! Aren't you Yoshizawa-san's coach!?" Takuto asked as the black-haired female nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. I work with Sumire Yoshizawa on her gymnastics. Pleasure to meet you, Maruki-san. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Relena Hiraguchi, coaching up-and-coming gymnasts is my game." The now-named Hiraguchi said as she extended a hand out for Takuto to shake, which he accepted warily as he spoke up.

"I see. Well, thank you for coming to my defense just now, Hiraguchi-san. I didn't mind Shibusawa here bringing that up, but it is a painful topic, bringing up the girlfriend I willingly gave up for her own good." Takuto said as Shibusawa winced and apologized to Takuto, who waved off the apology as the group kept watching the show together, unaware of the group nearby also watching.

Meanwhile, back with the prideful young man, the Phantom Thieves were also watching the show, as proven when Ryuji scoffed and spoke up.

"Who the hell's that?" Ryuji asked as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Good question, sweetie. He looks pretty popular. I heard that woman say 'latest book.' I wonder, does that mean he's a writer?" Makoto mused, unaware that the prideful young man had heard her and Ryuji speaking and turned in their direction with an intrigued look on his face as he spoke to himself.

"Oh-ho-ho? What's that?" The prideful man said as he walked over to the group and spoke up, seemingly looking mostly at Makoto, Ann, and Haru as he spoke.

"Hello there. Are you looking for an autograph as well? Or perhaps a handshake?" The prideful man said as a flustered Haru spoke up.

"Huh? Um, thank you? But we heard the sound of a crowd nearby and were curious what was going on. We're tourists here, you see." Haru said, trying to be as polite as she could, making the prideful man give her a faux-contrite look as he spoke up.

"Oh, how terribly rude of me to keep such lovely fans waiting like this." The prideful man said before surprising the entire group, plus the trio watching nearby, by dropping to a knee out of nowhere as he extended a book out to a confused and flustered Haru with a flourish, speaking up as he did so.

"Please, accept this as a token of my apology, yes? Don't worry, I've already signed it." The prideful man said as a flustered Haru spoke up warily.

"Um. Okay, I guess? I wasn't expecting this, but I guess I can accept your apology?" Haru said uncertainly. Ann spoke up with a frown.

"Listen, uh, whoever you are. We were just passing by and heard a crowd nearby, so we got curious about what was going on. You have no reason to apologize to us." Ann said as the prideful man smirked at Ann and spoke up.

"Ah, is that so? It seems I got a little ahead of myself." The prideful man said as Makoto glanced at the title and spoke up, unknowingly covering up the sounds of Goro being restrained by both of his comrades nearby after seeing the prideful man basically try and make a pass at Haru. The short-haired male frowned at Goro and spoke up.

"Goro, cool it! I get you're pissed, and rightly so. But we agreed that the time isn't right to reveal our presence to the others just yet. After all, I have a feeling this is going to be a case where the others will need a trump card in reserve to play in a desperate situation. And I feel like we could be that trump card! Besides, you don't see Boss here lining up to smash that guy, even though he's clearly trying to come on to Makoto, Ann, and Haru. Granted, I reserve the right to smack him myself if he tries anything with Taba. But I don't see it happening with any luck." The short-haired male said as the bearded man spoke up.

"That may be true, Kusa, but even so? I also know it's not always worth picking a fight either." The bearded man said to the short-haired male, now identified as Kusa. Before Kusa could do more than shrug, they heard Makoto's voice as she spoke up.

"Hm? This title says 'Prince of Nightmares' by 'Ango Natsume'? Is that the title of this book and the author?" Makoto asked in confusion as the prideful young man straightened up and nodded while speaking up.

"Yep, that's right. That's the author of the book as well as yours truly. Ango Natsume's my name. It's a pleasure." The now-named Natsume said as Ren and Sumire exchanged wary looks, both getting a slightly shady vibe off of Natsume. Haru blinked as she recalled a detail from earlier as she heard the title of the book.

"Hm? Where have I-? OH! That's right! 'Prince of Nightmares'. That's the name from those flyers on the Masamune statue." Haru said in surprise as Natsume's brown eyes widened while he spoke up.

"My flyers on Masamune's statue? Ah, I think I know what happened to cause that. Alas, that's most likely the work of some of my more zealous fans. I appreciate them promoting my work, but I would never endorse them defacing such a historical landmark as the Masamune statue. Hm, well it appears they went overboard somewhat. Honestly, they can be a real handful sometimes." Natsume said, unaware of the bigger crowd turning to face the group, perfectly masking the quartet in the back as they stealthed around to get a better view, unknowingly standing close to the observing trio while doing so. However, before they could say anything, their attention, plus that of the trio, was drawn to Natsume when they heard what came out of his mouth next while he looked at Haru.

"I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Allow me to apologize on their behalf. In exchange, allow me to offer you a kiss as my thanks for your diligence." Natsume said as Kusa managed to hold Goro back right as Ryuji stepped forward to speak up, making Kusa and Goro both look at him in shock as he spoke.

"Yo, back off, dude. Can't you see you're makin' her uncomfortable?" Ryuji said as Ren gave Sumire a look that said 'let me handle this' as he handed his bag, which had Morgana in it, to her and spoke up.

"Here, hold Morgana while I give Ryuji some backup." Ren said to Sumire, who merely nodded her understanding as he strode over to Ryuji and glared at Natsume as he kept speaking.

"Seriously, what my bro here said. Back off, dude. You're making these ladies uncomfortable. And I know for a fact the girl you're hitting on isn't looking for anything like what you offered right now." Ren said firmly to Natsume, who glared at Ren as he spoke up, not seeing Kusa give Ren an impressed smirk while he watched Natsume speak up through gritted teeth.

"And who are YOU supposed to be? I believe I was addressing these lovely young ladies here. I'll thank you not to interrupt. Oh, oops. I didn't see that exquisite looking pair of red-heads behind you until now. My apologies to you, ladies." Natsume said to Ren, who frowned at Natsume's shameless pass at both Sumire and Futaba, unaware of Kusa glaring at Natsume nearby after hearing him openly hit on Futaba. But Kusa restrained himself from jumping Natsume, if only barely, by reminding himself to stick to the plan. Ren glared at him and made to snap at Natsume, but Ryuji gave him a 'let me handle this!' look and spoke up.

"Sorry, but they're with us. You got a problem, you can always talk to me." Ryuji said as Natsume scowled and spoke up.

"Hmph, I see. Tell me, you blonde-haired punk. Do you seriously think you can get away with speaking to me like that?" Natsume said as Ren spoke up with a glare.

"Yeah? You wanna make something of it, Natsume? Ryuji and I will both take you. Bring it on, you coward! That is, if you think you can take us both!" Ren said bluntly as Natsume chuckled at Ren and spoke up.

"Heh. My, this one's got some backbone, doesn't he!?" Natsume said mockingly. Right as Kusa frowned at Natsume and made to prime a throwing knife to scare him, he changed his mind as he saw a tough-looking man in a black suit walk over to Natsume and speak up.

"Mister Natsume, we need to get moving soon." The man in a suit said as Natsume scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, that's true. We do have a schedule to keep." Natsume said before turning to the group again as he kept speaking, giving the group a closed-eye smile that both annoyed Kusa to no end along with reminding him of the smug closed-eye grins Goro used to give that had him wanting to punch him, only now he was resisting the urge to punch Natsume as he spoke.

"Well, then. As much as I'd love to teach you two some respect, let's put a rain-check on that declaration you two made, yeah? It seems I must be going. I've a magazine interview to get to." Natsume said before turning back to the crowd and bowing as he spoke up.

"And to all those who have read my book, I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Natsume said as he strode off, hearing the fans in the crowd call out that they love him, and ignoring the two other groups giving him stink eyes as he walked off, all agreeing that Natsume needed to be knocked down a few pegs. As the group, and both the smaller groups that were glaring at Natsume's departing back, listened, they heard a passionate fan in the crowd speak up.

"Oh, he's just so dreamy, don't you think? I'll have to buy ten more copies tomorrow to show him just how much I care." The passionate fan said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Not to be oblivious or anything, but who was that man?" Yusuke asked, making Ryuji, along with both Goro and Kusa, who were watching a little ways away, laugh at the question. Ryuji frowned as he spoke up.

"I believe he introduced himself as 'Ango Natsume'? I dunno if he's some local bigshot or whatever, but he sure was pissin' me off." Ryuji said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a confused Sophia speaking up.

"He was a strange one, for sure. But the people around him seemed really happy. Why was that?" Sophia asked as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Prolly 'cause they're a buncha weirdos!" Ryuji said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Or, to use a turn of phrase that Kusa would assuredly use if he were here, they're a bunch of 'weak-minded sheeple with less collective will power than Ryuji during exams'. Ooh, maybe I shouldn't have added that last part? Umm, sorry Ryuji." Sumire said, unaware of the fact that as the group was discussing the book signing, the trio had heard them, resulting in Kusa facefaulting before he groaned nearby at how well Sumire had quoted him, hating that she'd heard him say that enough times to commit it to memory. Yusuke scowled and spoke up at that point.

"I must agree with Ryuji. He wasn't at all deserving of such praise, even in the form of flattery." Yusuke said as Makoto spoke up in concern, seeing the pensive look on Haru's face.

"Are you all right, Haru?" Makoto said as Haru spoke up with a nod.

"Mhm, I'm fine. I was just a little surprised by his sudden gestures, that's all." Haru said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Tch! How'd a jerk like him get so popular? It doesn't make any sense!" Ann said as Sumire spoke up.

"Maybe not by normal explanations, no. But do I need to remind you that Sophia sensed a Jail in Sendai? Maybe that man is connected to the Jail in question?" Sumire mused as Morgana blinked at Sumire's response and spoke up.

"Hmm, that's a good point, Sumire. There might be something else going on here. He could even be changing people's hearts for all we know." Morgana said as the group's eyes widened as Makoto spoke up.

"Wait, what!? You mean to tell me that he's the Monarch of the Sendai Jail?" Makoto asked as Morgana spoke up

"Not necessarily, Makoto. It's just one possibility." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"No, I think you might be on to something, Morgana. If he's the Monarch, then everything else totally makes sense!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"That could be. If so, we should get some intel first so we can say for sure if he's the Monarch or not, rather than just idly speculate on it." Ren said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Perf, I got my laptop back at the RV. Should be able to dig something up from there." Futaba said as Sumire spoke up.

"Do you even get an internet signal for it out here, though? I thought you didn't have a signal for the Internet on it, Futaba?" Sumire said as Futaba spoke up.

"Mwehehe, don't worry about it. I have that figured out." Futaba said as the group shrugged and headed on their way, unaware of the discussion going on nearby...

(At the same time, in the next part of town, with the trio of Goro, Sojiro, and Kusa)

After leaving the gathering outside of the beef tongue restaurant, Goro and Kusa both huffed as the former spoke up.

"Grr, what a show-off! At least Kusa agrees with me that that guy is easily as big of a show-off as Maruki was, if not bigger. So that's something." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"I do agree with that, yes. But at the same time, was I the only one who saw that prick shamelessly hit on practically ALL of the girls in Ren's group, including both Sumire and Futaba? He's lucky his guard showed up when he did, because I was legit tempted to scare him with one of my throwing knives, but it wouldn't have been worth the trouble I'd have gotten in for it." Kusa said as Goro chuckled and spoke up.

"No, it really wouldn't have been. But I can see how it'd have been cathartic anyways. Patience, Kusa. We'll get our chance to get back at him soon enough. After all, you yourself said we need to be ready in case we have to step in when the others confront Natsume-san, did you not? So we'll surely have a chance to get back at him later." Goro said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up.

"I agree with you on that, Goro. Plus, I don't think Kusa needs to be setting a bad example for Futaba anyways. Besides, I think there are more effective ways to put the fear of God into someone than just tossing a knife at them. Or do I need to bring up the time he and Ren scared those twin blonde girls the night Ren brought them to Leblanc and they tried my coffee and curry.

Not sure why they called Ren an 'Inmate' and me a 'godslayer', but Kusa said something about them being cosplayers who were really into cosplaying as police wardens, who'd latched onto Ren as their 'Inmate'? Whatever that means. Either way, I think they were harmless for the most part, even if Kusa looked ready to light into them for disrespecting me." Sojiro said as Kusa surprised both Goro and Sojiro when he laughed and spoke up.

"Oh, you mean Caroline and Justine? Yeah, they were just naive and didn't know any better, truth be told. Also, they ended up turning out to be one being that was torn asunder by an evil will, according to what Ren told me the night he brought their combined form into Leblanc to show her his room at her request. I believe if I recall right, that combined form introduced herself as Lavenza.

She struck me as a rather nice girl, if a bit naive to the ways of the world. And she was definitely lucky that Sumire wasn't there at that point, given how much she was sticking close to Ren's side. At least I got to help Ren show off some 'Star Forneus' to her, so it wasn't all bad. Still, she was definitely an odd girl.

But anyways, Goro had a point when he said we have a plan to adhere to. For now, our best move is to probably try and discreetly see about gathering intel on Natsume where we can, so that we can try and figure out if this guy is in fact a Monarch or not, and then we can use that EMMA app on your phone, Goro, to try and get into his Jail, if he has one.

The way I figure it, we can then try to rendezvous with the others in said Jail and try to subtly guide them on the path to confronting Natsume's Shadow, discreetly of course. And we'll probably have to scout the place out first to get a feel of the surroundings, and stuff like that. Does that sound good to you two?" Kusa asked Sojiro and Goro, who nodded their agreement as the two followed Kusa back to the car to start ironing out the particulars of their plan...

(Back in the main street of Sendai, with Ren, Sumire, Sophia, and Morgana)

"Hm. That Ango Natsume guy we saw earlier strikes me as odd. We may not have any evidence of him being a Monarch yet, but he sure is fishy. Let's get back to the camper. We should work out how we want to gather intel on him, then we can go from there." Morgana said as Sumire and Ren nodded their agreement before the two had a seat on a nearby bench to catch their breath and reflect on what happened so far...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Not as long as some of my start-of-arc chapters, I'm sure. But I hope it's long enough to tide people over! And before anyone asks, YES the cameos by several side characters from Persona 5 Royal (and one unseen but mentioned character in Shibusawa's wife), is entirely intentional.

But anyways, let's just say that I figured that it was only fair that Maruki appears in here in at least some capacity, given that every other character introduced in Royal has appeared so far (excluding a couple of minor side characters who were only mentioned but not seen). Also, I'm undecided on if I'll have another cameo from that group or not.

And yes, I gave Sumire's coach a cameo too, just for the sake of having a fourth person to stand in the same spot as Maruki, Shibusawa, and Shibusawa's wife! I have no clue if Shibusawa's wife has a name in canon or not, but feel free to tell me if she has a name, and I'll edit it in as well as credit whoever tells me in a future A/N.

Ironically, when I went to look up if Sumire's coach had an actual first name or not, all that came up was that she was referred to in most wikis that involve her as 'Coach Hiraguchi', so I went with the first name Relena as it not only seemed accurate enough to her, but I like the idea that I was able to also slip in a subtle reference to Digimon Data Squad at the same time (kudos to anyone who gets what exactly I was referencing with her name).

As for if any of them are going to be among the new Thieves? I can confirm that unless I change my mind later on or if Maruki, who is in the poll currently up on my profile, wins, then none of the four cameos in this chapter will be Phantom Thieves. At best, they'll just be some potentially recurring cameos from time to time, though it's also possible that this cameo by them could end up being a one-off deal. Feel free to let me know if you liked this cameo and want to see more cameos in the story, either in the reviews or via PM.

For those readers who might be curious about the poll up on my profile, you can vote for up to two options on it, and it will be up until January 5th (it's presently 2:56AM on Saturday, December 9th, 2023 as I type this part of the A/N), after which I'll close the poll and see which two got the most votes and proceed from there in figuring out their Persona/weapons/code name, and other relevant stuff to add them in as new Phantom Thieves later in the story. Also, at this time, the voting tally sits at 1-1-0-0-0, but I won't say who has votes right now since it's meant to be a blind poll.

So be patient if you're curious to see who the other new Thieves will be. It'll happen soon enough. Anyways, hopefully you all enjoy the story so far! Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts/feedback/constructive criticism/suggestions on this story (or you can PM that info to me if you don't want to leave it in a review instead as I appreciate hearing from readers either way), and I'll look forward to hearing from my readers! Either way, until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Not gonna lie, I actually forgot that Ann does so many parody names for board games. To be clear, she was parodizing The Game Of Life, UNO, and Jenga, respectively. Kinda crazy she knows so many board games for being a model. I could be wrong, but do models usually have time to play board games? I feel like most models wouldn't have that sort of time, but egh, what do I know? I'm a fanfic writer, not a model.

*2* - And this bit here is showing how much the Phantom Thieves can be totally non-observant in canon Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal/Persona 5 Strikers. They literally overlooked another group eavesdropping on their entire conversation with Ichinose for the most part. Imagine if that'd been undercover officers doing that. Can you say 'massively screwed over'? I feel like you could.

And also, YES, that was an intentional inclusion of Kusa's trio there. I'd been planning this for a while regardless. Suffice it to say, it's setting up a recurring sideplot that will go on for most of this arc, and probably culminate in a big surprise during the fight against Shadow Natsume. But I'll leave it at that for now, so as not to spoil said surprise.

PHANTOM THIEF LINEUP AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 8

JOKER (Ren) Level: 18 Current Personas: Raoul, Berith, High Pixie, Succubus, Lamia, Hua Po Equipped Persona: Raoul Persona Moveset: Eiha (Curse), Cleave (Physical), Tarunda (Support/Debuff), Dream Needle (Physical), Rebel Soul (Passive), Media (Healing), Curse Boost (Passive), Recarm (Healing)

SKULL (Ryuji) Level: 15 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zio (Elec), Lunge (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff), Headbutt (Physical), Mazio (Elec)

MONA (Morgana) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garu (Wind), Dia (Healing), Media (Healing), Magaru (Wind), Technical Adept (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agi (Fire), Dia (Healing) Tarunda (Support/Debuff), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragi (Fire)

FOX (Yusuke) Level: 15 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufu (Ice), Cleave (Physical), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Giant Slice (Physical), Vicious Strike (Physical)

QUEEN (Makoto) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Frei (Nuclear), Dia (Healing), Rakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafrei (Nuclear), Media (Healing)

NOIR (Haru) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Astarte Persona Moveset: Psi (Psy), Evil Touch (Ailment), Snap (Gun), Hysterical Slap (Physical), Technical Adept (Passive), Amrita Drop (Healing)

ORACLE (Futaba) Level: 18 Current Personas: Al Azif and *REDACTED* Equipped Persona: Al Azif Persona Moveset: Analysis (Passive), Moral Support (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) Level: 16 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Current Moveset: Kouha? (Bless), Rakunda? (Support/Debuff), Dia? (Healing), Makouha? (Bless), Media? (Healing), Bless Boost? (Support)

VIOLET (Sumire) Level: 15 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouha (Bless), Dia (Healing), Cleave (Physical), Rebellion (Support/Buff), Makouha (Bless), Dream Needle (Physical)

KNOWN PHANTOM THIEVES AND ALLIES

DRACONIS (Kusa) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Double Fangs (Physical), Agi (Fire), Garu (Wind), Media (Healing), Rising Slash (Physical)

CROW (Goro) Level: 16 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiha (Curse), Triple Down (Gun), Maeiha (Curse), Giant Slice (Physical), Rakunda (Support/Debuff)

*REDACTED* (Sojiro) Level: 16: Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psi (Psy), Snap (Gun), Spell Master (Passive), Mapsi (Psy), Dekunda (Support/Buff), Rebel Soul (Passive), Headbutt (Physical)

Allies: Zenkichi, Shiho